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Fantastic Firsts Young Adult

Young Adult fiction has reached far and beyond the interest of reading teenagers. Many of us who love great adult fiction are fans of the Young Adult titles that are being published in massive numbers these days. So, for you or for the teen in your life, be sure to subscribe to this club.

Subscribers receive 20% off cover price of selected titles which can be picked up in store or scheduled to arrive in a special FFBC box shipped by the 20th of each month.

You may pick up your new book at either Mysterious Galaxy San Diego or at the Redondo Beach satellite office.

Customers have the option of purchasing a FF subscription as a gift in a 3, 6, or 12-month subscription.

Many, but not all selections will be signed.

And don't forget: FFBC memberships make great gifts!

To sign up, or for more information, contact the staff in San Diego (858-268-4747). Club membership lists will be maintained by the San Diego location, but all fantastic titles can be picked up in either store, or shipped to you!

November 2017

Staff Reviews

Otherworld, set in the near future, asks the important question of what real-world sacrifices people would be willing to make when offered the chance to immerse themselves in a virtual reality that engages all their senses. The mysterious Company that constructed Otherworld promises players a chance to live their “best lives,” with “No laws. No limits. No judgements.” But what are the consequences of (virtually) living without limits, whether engaging in survival tactics, or indulging one’s secret desires?What may be one participant’s utopia may be another’s nightmare. Teens Simon and Kat, once the closest of friends in real life, now are only able to connect in Otherworld. When Simon is desperately seeking Kat, he discovers much more than they bargained for.

Description

For fans of Black Mirror and HBO's Westworld, and readers of James Dashner and Veronica Roth, Otherworld is the first book in New York Times bestselling authors Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller's new YA sci-fi-thriller series. The future is now. And the future is terrifying.

"Full of high stakes, thrillers, and fantastic twists and turns, fans of Ready Player One are sure to love this addictive read."--Buzzfeed.com

There are no screens. There are no controls. You don't just see and hear it--you taste, smell, and touch it too. In this new reality, there are no laws to break or rules to obey. You can live your best life. Indulge every desire.
It's a game so addictive you'll never want it to end. Until you realize that you're the one being played.
Welcome to Otherworld, where reality is dead. Step into the future. Leave your body behind.

The frightening future that Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller have imagined is not far away. Otherworld asks the question we'll all soon be asking: if technology can deliver everything we want, how much are we willing to pay?

" A] fast-paced adventure"--Publishers Weekly

"Authors Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller keep the action nonstop while they convincingly ratchet up the tension... in] the high-stakes gaming and intrigue of Otherworld.]"--Shelf Awareness

"A fantastic journey from start to finish, and will keep your attention, long after you've put the book down."--Hypable.com.

October 2017

Staff Reviews

"In the town of Whimsy humans sell their Craft, their artistic creations, to the otherworldly and darkly dangerous fair folk in exchange for magical enchantments. Isobel is a talented artist who paints portraits of the fair folk in exchange for practical protections. But when the Autumn Prince whisks her away to the faerie kingdom she enters a world far more perilous—and beautiful—than she’s ever known. A perfect blend of Faerie danger and romance, and a book that swept me up in full enchantment. A gorgeous debut."

-- Kelly

Description

A skilled painter must stand up to the ancient power of the faerie courts--even as she falls in love with a faerie prince--in this gorgeous debut novel.

Isobel is a prodigy portrait artist with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread, weave cloth, or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel's paintings are highly prized. But when she receives her first royal patron--Rook, the autumn prince--she makes a terrible mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes--a weakness that could cost him his life.

Furious and devastated, Rook spirits her away to the autumnlands to stand trial for her crime. Waylaid by the Wild Hunt's ghostly hounds, the tainted influence of the Alder King, and hideous monsters risen from barrow mounds, Isobel and Rook depend on one another for survival. Their alliance blossoms into trust, then love--and that love violates the fair folks' ruthless laws. Now both of their lives are forfeit, unless Isobel can use her skill as an artist to fight the fairy courts. Because secretly, her Craft represents a threat the fair folk have never faced in all the millennia of their unchanging lives: for the first time, her portraits have the power to make them feel.

September 2017

Description

The 5th Wave meets Beauty and the Beast in this fast-paced and heart-stopping novel about an invasion of murderous creatures and one girl fighting for her life at the end of the world.

He has no voice or name, only a rank, Eighth. He doesn't know the details of the mission, only the directives that hum in his mind. Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall. His job is to protect his Offside. Let her do the shooting.Until a human kills her...

Sixteen-year-old Raven is at summer camp when the terrifying armored Nahx invade. Isolated in the wilderness, Raven and her fellow campers can only stay put. Await rescue. Raven doesn't like feeling helpless, but what choice does she have? Then a Nahx kills her boyfriend.

Thrown together in a violent, unfamiliar world, Eighth and Raven should feel only hate and fear. But when Raven is injured, and Eighth deserts his unit, their survival comes to depend on trusting each other...

August 2017

Description

A darkly irresistible new fantasy set in the infamous Gomorrah Festival, a traveling carnival of debauchery that caters to the strangest of dreams and desires Sixteen-year-old Sorina has spent most of her life within the smoldering borders of the Gomorrah Festival. Yet even among the many unusual members of the traveling circus-city, Sorina stands apart as the only illusion-worker born in hundreds of years. This rare talent allows her to create illusions that others can see, feel and touch, with personalities all their own. Her creations are her family, and together they make up the cast of the Festival's Freak Show. But no matter how lifelike they may seem, her illusions are still just that--illusions, and not truly real. Or so she always believed...until one of them is murdered. Desperate to protect her family, Sorina must track down the culprit and determine how they killed a person who doesn't actually exist. Her search for answers leads her to the self-proclaimed gossip-worker Luca. Their investigation sends them through a haze of political turmoil and forbidden romance, and into the most sinister corners of the Festival. But as the killer continues murdering Sorina's illusions one by one, she must unravel the horrifying truth before all her loved ones disappear.

July 2017

Staff Reviews

Emily Bain Murphy’s The Disappearances overflows with marvels, literary and actual. The death of her mother forces Aila and her brother Miles to move to her mother’s hometown. Once there, Aila is immediately enmeshed in mysteries. Why do the people of Sterling hate her mother, and by extension, Aila and her brother? And why do the townspeople lose every seven years another human ability: to dream, to see the stars, and to hear music? Aila’s quest into her mother’s past gives us readers the chance to appreciate small-town America in WWII, teen romance, magic, and—most mysteriously!—the poetry of William Shakespeare. The Disappearances is a highly original and accomplished debut.

Description

What if the ordinary things in life suddenly...disappeared? Aila Quinn's mother, Juliet, has always been a mystery: vibrant yet guarded, she keeps her secrets beyond Aila's reach. When Juliet dies, Aila and her younger brother Miles are sent to live in Sterling, a rural town far from home--and the place where Juliet grew up. Sterling is a place with mysteries of its own. A place where the experiences that weave life together--scents of flowers and food, reflections from mirrors and lakes, even the ability to dream--vanish every seven years. No one knows what caused these "Disappearances," or what will slip away next. But Sterling always suspected that Juliet Quinn was somehow responsible--and Aila must bear the brunt of their blame while she follows the chain of literary clues her mother left behind. As the next Disappearance nears, Aila begins to unravel the dual mystery of why the Disappearances happen and who her mother truly was. One thing is clear: Sterling isn't going to hold on to anyone's secrets for long before it starts giving them up.

June 2017

Staff Reviews

“Death follows indecision, like a twisted shadow. Fall forward. Keep moving. Even if you must pick yourself up first.” Flame in the Mist is a stunning and intriguing mashup of Mulan and 47 Ronin. The story follows a young woman named Mariko as she struggles to find her place in society, often undermined by many of the male influences in her life. After narrowly escaping an ambush, she decides to create an alter ego, to join the clan that was sent to kill her. Mariko discovers secrets about herself, her family, and her world as she experiences a whole new aspect of life. She’s strong, independent, and a relatable character that captivates readers from the very first page.

Description

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Wrath and the Dawn, comes a sweeping, action-packed YA adventure set against the backdrop of Feudal Japan where Mulan meets Throne of Glass.

The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has long known her place--she may be an accomplished alchemist, whose cunning rivals that of her brother Kenshin, but because she is not a boy, her future has always been out of her hands. At just seventeen years old, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden, the son of the emperor's favorite consort--a political marriage that will elevate her family's standing. But en route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by a dangerous gang of bandits known as the Black Clan, who she learns has been hired to kill her before she reaches the palace.
Dressed as a peasant boy, Mariko sets out to infiltrate the Black Clan and track down those responsible for the target on her back. Once she's within their ranks, though, Mariko finds for the first time she's appreciated for her intellect and abilities. She even finds herself falling in love--a love that will force her to question everything she's ever known about her family, her purpose, and her deepest desires.

May 2017

Description

An obstinate girl who will not be married.
A soldier desperate to prove himself.
A kingdom on the brink of war.

With a sharp tongue and an unruly temper, Sage Fowler is not what they d call a lady which is perfectly fine with her. Deemed unfit for marriage, Sage is apprenticed to a matchmaker and tasked with wrangling other young ladies to be married off for political alliances. She spies on the girls and on the soldiers escorting them.

As the girls' military escort senses a political uprising, Sage is recruited by a handsome soldier to infiltrate the enemy ranks. The more she discovers as a spy, the less certain she becomes about whom to trust and Sage becomes caught in a dangerous balancing act that will determine the fate of her kingdom.

With secret identities and a tempestuous romance, The Traitor's Kiss is Jane Austen with an espionage twist.

April 2017

Staff Reviews

Lazlo Strange: Orphan. Reader. Dreamer. Ever since a book of fairy tales fell off a shelf and broke his nose, Lazlo has read and dreamed of lost cities and extraordinary heroes—especially of the land of Weep, a city once full of magic but now lost to the world. Lost, that is, until now. The plot and action of this book moves slowly—but in its beautiful, enchanting slowness, I fell in love with reading all over again. Laini Taylor is a master wordsmith and throughout her story she pulls on the threads of enchantment, weaving a tale of sorrow and beauty, love and hate, wonder and bewitchment. A story intricately written and intimately read. Undoubtedly one of the best books of 2017.

Description

A new epic fantasy by National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author Laini Taylor of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy.The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around--and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance to lose his dream forever.What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?
The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries--including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? and if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?
In this sweeping and breathtaking new novel by National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor, author of the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, the shadow of the past is as real as the ghosts who haunt the citadel of murdered gods. Fall into a mythical world of dread and wonder, moths and nightmares, love and carnage.Welcome to Weep.

March 2017

Description

In the captivating start to a new, darkly lyrical fantasy series for readers of Leigh Bardugo and Sabaa Tahir, Tea can raise the dead, but resurrection comes at a price...

Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise. If there's anything I've learned from him in the years since, it's that the dead hide truths as well as the living.

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she's a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.

In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha--one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles...and make a powerful choice.

Memoirs of a Geisha meets The Name of the Wind in this brilliant new fantasy series by Rin Chupeco

Published: Thomas Dunne Book for St. Martin's Griffin - February 7th, 2017

February 2017

Staff Reviews

Wintersong is a retelling of the Goblin King in early 19th century Europe that focuses on Liesl, a female composer whose music can melt even the Lord of Mischief's heart. But a female composer is a nonexistent thing in her time and Liesl is slowly forced away from her talent as the duties of running the family tavern fall on her shoulders. She begins to ignore the woods and the dangerous games she played with a mysterious boy that -- if remembered -- might just free her, if they don't kill her first.

S.Jae-Jones has created a lush, seductive world that explores the journey of embracing oneself and the sacrifices it can require. Set in a hauntingly dark world, this book shows how nothing is gained for free and how to win one thing, another must be lost.The choice is always ours but so are the consequences. The magic, passion, and danger of this book held me captive until the very end. A truly beautiful read and a phenomenal debut.

— Constance

Description

Wintersong is a maze of beauty and darkness, of music and magic and glittering things, all tied together with exquisite writing. This is a world you will want to stay lost in. Marie Lu, #1 New York Times bestselling author

The last night of the year. Now the days of winter begin and the Goblin King rides abroad, searching for his bride

All her life, Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, dangerous Goblin King. They ve enraptured her mind, her spirit, and inspired her musical compositions. Now eighteen and helping to run her family's inn, Liesl can t help but feel that her musical dreams and childhood fantasies are slipping away.

But when her own sister is taken by the Goblin King, Liesl has no choice but to journey to the Underground to save her. Drawn to the strange, captivating world she finds and the mysterious man who rules it she soon faces an impossible decision. And with time and the old laws working against her, Liesl must discover who she truly is before her fate is sealed.

Dark, romantic, and powerful, S. Jae-Jones's Wintersong will sweep you away into a world you won t soon forget.

November 2016

Description

#1 New York Times bestselling author of the House of Night series, P.C. Cast, brings us a new epic fantasy set in a world where humans, their animal allies, and the earth itself has been drastically changed. A world filled with beauty and danger and cruelty

Mari is an Earth Walker, heir to the unique healing powers of her Clan; but she has cast her duties aside, until she is chosen by a special animal ally, altering her destiny forever. When a deadly attack tears her world apart, Mari reveals the strength of her powers and the forbidden secret of her dual nature as she embarks on a mission to save her people. It is not until Nik, the son of the leader from a rival, dominating clan strays across her path, that Mari experiences something she has never felt before

Now, darkness is coming, and with it, a force, more terrible and destructive than the world has ever seen, leaving Mari to cast the shadows from the earth. By forming a tumultuous alliance with Nik, she must make herself ready. Ready to save her people. Ready to save herself and Nik. Ready to embrace her true destiny and obliterate the forces that threaten to destroy them all.

October 2016

Description

A #1 New York Times Bestseller Presented by James Patterson's new children's imprint, this deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion...
Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.
The story's shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.

September 2016

Staff Reviews

Assassins, thieves, and pirates fill the pages of Traci Chee’s The Reader. In this world where reading and writing is forbidden, stories are told through tales and song. The book itself is told through tales and stories in alternating point-of-views, and details are slowly revealed about this landscape filled with hidden magic and danger around each corner. The Reader is simply fantasy with mystery and enigma; a puzzle you will need to solve. And as you are reading, you will become desperate for answers. Here is a book that is voracious and demands attention. In the midst of secret societies, unspoken rules, and relationships between master and apprentice, Chee will dazzle you with adventure and a diverse and mesmerizing cast of characters. Above all else, Chee's words will lure you into her intricate world.

-Guest reviewer Michelle

Description

A stunning debut set in a world where reading is unheard-of, perfect for fans of Inkheart and Shadow and Bone

Sefia knows what it means to survive. After her father is brutally murdered, she flees into the wilderness with her aunt Nin, who teaches her to hunt, track, and steal. But when Nin is kidnapped, leaving Sefia completely alone, none of her survival skills can help her discover where Nin's been taken, or if she's even alive. The only clue to both her aunt's disappearance and her father's murder is the odd rectangular object her father left behind, an object she comes to realize is a book a marvelous item unheard of in her otherwise illiterate society. With the help of this book, and the aid of a mysterious stranger with dark secrets of his own, Sefia sets out to rescue her aunt and find out what really happened the day her father was killed and punish the people responsible.
With overlapping stories of swashbuckling pirates and merciless assassins, The Reader is a brilliantly told adventure from an extraordinary new talent.

August 2016

Description

A stunning debut perfect for fans of Patrick Ness and Neil Gaiman
The Danek is a wild, treacherous river, and the Fobisher family has tended it for generations clearing it of ice and weed, making sure boats can get through, and fishing corpses from its bleak depths. Wulliam's father, the current Riverkeep, is proud of this work. Wull dreads it. And in one week, when he comes of age, he will have to take over.
Then the unthinkable happens. While recovering a drowned man, Wull's father is pulled under and when he emerges, he is no longer himself. A dark spirit possesses him, devouring him from the inside. In an instant, Wull is Riverkeep. And he must care for his father, too.
When he hears that a cure for his father lurks in the belly of a great sea-dwelling beast known as the mormorach, he embarks on an epic journey down the river that his family has so long protected but never explored. Along the way, he faces death in any number of ways, meets people and creatures touched by magic and madness and alchemy, and finds courage he never knew he possessed.
Martin Stewart's debut novel is an astonishing blend of the literary, the comedic, and the emotionally resonant. In a sentence, it's "The Wizard of Oz" as told by Patrick Ness. It marks the beginning of a remarkable career.